George Washington: A National Treasure

One of the most famous and iconic images of George Washington was commissioned from Gilbert Stuart for the Marquis of Lansdowne, a British supporter of American independence. It has only recently left private hands to become a central work of the National Portrait Gallery. The painting shows Washington in 1796, the last year of his presidency, resolute in the face of the multiple crises of our nation's beginnings, civilian rather than military in his authority, and grand not in the tradition of a king but as democracy's representative. As Stuart presents him, he is the embodiment of a nation that had become stable and free. Heavily illustrated in color with details of the Lansdowne portrait itself, with other portraits of Washington, and with portraits of Washington's contemporaries, the book is a celebration of a leader whose fate was bound up with the nation's, and the masterful portrait that captured his essence. Paper back, 103 Pages with Index and many illustrations. Published by the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. in 2002.